A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. To the anonymous reviwers:
MollyMKS: Thanks so much for the review. Glad you are enjoying it despite its obvious sadness.
heather: Wow, you just smaked me in the face with compliments! Thank you so much! I appriciate it muchly!
thegreatbluespoon: lol, it is quite depressing, and this chapter is even more so. Be warned!
Lindsey: So glad you loved it! Thanks for reviewing!
And now... on with the chapter...
The house was silent.
The only sound was coming from the clock in the kitchen.
"How long has it been?"
Sara's hoarse voice rung out through out the room from where she was curled up on the couch. Nick sat in the kitchen on the barstool, head resting in his hands.
"4 hours, 12 minutes… 34 seconds."
Sara sniffled, and Nick stood up, walking over to his wife, and wrapping his arms around her. She fell against his chest, taking comfort in his strong heartbeat.
"She's going to be alright," Nick whispered to her. She nodded, snuggling up closer to him.
She wanted to believe what he was saying.
Nick had never lied to her before.
Why would he lie now?
Suddenly, Nick's phone began ringing.
"Must be Grissom," Sara whispered. Nick grabbed his phone off the table, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Stokes," Nick said desperately.
"Daddy…"
Nick's heart did a double take. "Emily?"
He could hear her crying, and it was breaking his heart. Sara looked at him, eyes wide.
"Emily, sweetheart," he said, standing up. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest, "Where are you?"
"I don't know," she cried softly. "I'm scared."
"It's okay," he told her. He gestured over to Sara, who looked so shocked.
"We have to get to the lab," Nick called out to Sara.
He grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch. Sara followed him as he ran from the house. She jumped into the front of the car, and he got into the passenger side.
"I need you to hold on, sweetie," Nick said, as Sara drove out of the driveway and started speeding towards the lab.
"Are you alone," he asked her. She sniffled.
"Yes."
Nick finally spoke the question he had wanted to know. "Has he hurt you, baby?"
"He hit me."
Her voice was so tiny, and Nick pressed the phone tighter to his ear.
"Just stay with me," he said desperately. They were about 5 minutes from the lab. If they got there, they could trace the call from Emily's mobile.
He had completely forgotten about her mobile. And so he should have. They had only bought her the phone the other day, as an extra safety precaution, although he didn't like the idea of his 5-year-old owning a mobile. He had put both his and Sara's mobile into speed dial, and told her she could only use it for emergencies. He'd hoped she would never need it.
Now, he was thanking Sara so much in his head for pressing the issue.
"I thought it was Mommy's car," Emily sobbed. "I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Nick told her. Sara pulled into the lab, screeching the brakes on just in time. The sprinted through the lab, passing many concerned faces, before finally reaching Archie.
"Nick, Sara," he said compassionately.
"I need you to trace this!" Nick said desperately. "It's Emily!"
Archie sensed the emergency, and quickly connected the phone.
"Em? You still there?" He asked her. She sniffled.
Sara's face was pale, and with a shaking hand, she asked for the phone.
Nick handed it over reluctantly, as Archie typed furiously on his computer.
"Emily? Sweetheart? It's Mommy."
"Mommy…"
Sara felt herself crumble, and she grabbed onto the back of Archie's chair to steady herself.
"We're going to come and find you, okay?" Sara told her.
"I want to go home."
"I know you do," Sara whispered. "I'm sorry baby."
Emily began to cry again. "I love you."
"I love you too," Sara told her.
Suddenly Emily grew quiet.
"Emily?" Sara asked.
"He's… coming."
Sara's eyes snapped shut. "For Gods sake, Archie, how long is this going to take?"
He continued to type furiously. "Give me a few more minutes okay? Make sure she doesn't disconnect?"
"I need you to hold on," Sara told her. "Can you hide the phone from him?"
"I want to talk to you!"
How could she deny her daughter that?
"I know you do," Sara choked out. "But you need to hide the phone."
"No!"
Suddenly, Sara heard a door open, the locks unlocking.
"Oh God…" Sara whimpered. Nick looked up from where he was starring at the ground.
Emily let out a scream, and Sara let out a sob.
"You little bitch!"
Sara heard her daughter scream again.
"EMILY!" Sara screamed.
"Who the fuck is this?"
A man's voice came through the phone. It was rough, and hoarse, and Sara shivered.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Sara screamed. "Don't you dare!"
The man let out a laugh, and Sara clutched at her hair. Nick, looking desperate, turned back to Archie.
"Just a few more seconds," Archie whispered.
"Please don't hurt her," Sara pleaded. "Please…"
She heard the phone being flung onto the hard ground, and her daughter's screams become steady sobs.
"Don't touch me!"
Emily's voice sounded far away, and Sara began to hyperventilate.
That son of a bitch was touching her daughter.
She pressed the phone desperately to her ear.
"Mommy!"
The man began to grunt and moan, and that's when Sara lost it.
"HURRY UP!" She screamed at Archie. Nick grabbed the phone off her, pressing it to his own ear, before he went pale.
"Got it," Archie said quickly, his hands shaking as he pulled the printed sheet out of the printer.
"13 Industrial Way, West Las Vegas."
3 squad cars as well as 2 CSI Tahoe's sped towards the location. Nick and Sara sat in the back as Catherine drove one of the cars. Nick held a still trembling Sara.
She couldn't forget what she had heard
They pulled out outside the address. A old abandoned house sat there. Police officers piled out of the cars and surrounded the house, kicking open the door.
Nick and Sara waited outside, Catherine and Grissom going inside the house.
They waited.
And waited.
Catherine stepped outside the house, evidence bags in her hands.
Emily's mobile phone
Nick's heart rose.
"Where is she?" Sara asked desperately, her face stained with tears. Catherine shook her head.
"She wasn't there."
Catherine's own voice was quivering as she spoke the next words.
"We know she was there, though…"
She held up the second evidence bag.
Emily's ballet leotard
Ripped.
Torn.
Destroyed.
Sara collapsed against Nick, sobbing uncontrollably. Nick held her to her, completely numb.
Desperately clinging to his wife.
Holding her.
Wishing he could hold his daughter too.
Nick could barely remember the next few days after Emily's funeral. It was nothing but a blur. He and Sara still hadn't gone back to work, and even though he knew things had to go on, he couldn't bring himself to go to work.
He was broken inside.
More than anything, he needed Sara.
Oh, she was there.
But she wasn't there.
She hadn't spoken a word to him since Emily's funeral, and that had hurt him.
He hurt because she had withdrawn from him when he needed her the most.
He was hurting badly.
And he needed her.
But she wouldn't let him.
That's what made him go out and buy the beer.
He got home. The house was silent and dark, the sun just setting.
Sara was probably in bed.
He placed the beer down on the coffee table, opening a bottle and reveling in the fizz of the carbonated liquid.
He took one sip, then another.
Then sculled the entire bottle.
He leant the back of his head down on the couch as he opened another bottle.
He needed Sara…
Why didn't she understand that he was hurting too?
He'd drunk half of the 6 pack of beer he had bought before he finally let it out, sobbing in the empty living room.
He stood up and stumbled to his bedroom. Sara was curled up on her side, eyes wide.
"Nicky?" she breathed softly. He fell down onto the bed, bringing his hand up to cup her neck. Pulling her to him, he pressed his lips against hers. She pulled back a bit, away from the smell of his breath, but Nick had had enough of her pulling away from him.
He forced his tongue deeper into her mouth, and she let out a tiny whimper. He let his lips slide down to her neck, suckling on the flesh there.
God, she tasted good.
He hadn't tasted her for so long.
And right now, he needed her more than ever. To forget just for one night that there lives were ruined, to remind her that they still had each other.
He moved to lie on top of her, and at first, she responded almost as desperately as he was, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
Maybe they both needed this.
He pulled away from her for a second. She was crying again, her brown eyes moist.
"Please don't cry, baby," he whispered, bringing himself back down to her lips again, putting every feeling he was feeling into the kiss.
He undressed her slowly, taking time to taste her skin.
"I love you so much," he purred to her. She whimpered again, and all of a sudden, he needed her then.
He needed to be with the woman he loved.
He kissed her again, and began to lower himself into her.
But then she pulled away, her hands pushing against his chest.
"I cant!"
Nick stopped, feeling his heart beating his chest as he watched his wife pull away from him.
He brought his hand up to caress her cheek, but she shook her head.
"Sara…" he said softly, desperately.
"I can't do this," she breathed. "Not when that… monster… did that to Emily."
Nick's heart stopped, and at one he was filled with remorse, grief, hurt… and anger.
"For God's sake, Sara!" Nick said, pushing himself away from her. "Rape isn't about sex, you know that!"
She continued to shake her head, curling herself up into a ball, turning away from him.
"Please Nick," she sobbed.
"I need you…" he choked out. "I can't keep on going without you… please stop shutting me out, sweetheart…"
When she didn't turn around, he stood up, slipping his boxer shorts on, trying to keep himself from breaking down. He turned around, tucking the blankets around Sara's shivering form, kissing her on the forehead.
She pulled away again.
"How many times do you want to break my heart, Sara?" Nick asked miserably. "I'm hurting too…"
"I dont need you..."
Those four words cut his heart, and he replyed back spitefully, pulling on clothes before he walked out the door, shaking with anger and hurt.
"Well I dont need you either!"
And as he stumbled out the front door, he realised it was the biggest lie he had ever told.
Please review! Pretty pretty please
TBC...